1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to electronic devices, and more specifically to the first use of semiconductor materials to fabricate thermionic coolers and generators.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of electronics to transport heat to and away from certain areas has expanded in recent years due to increased packing densities and hostile environments. For cooling applications, thermoelectric coolers (TE Coolers) have been used to cool areas both in electronic and non-electronic applications. TE coolers are typically a p-type doped region alternatively connected to an n-type doped region, which creates cooling effects at one metal-doped region junction and heating effects at the other metal-doped region junction, depending on the direction of the current through the device.
However, TE coolers are limited in their overall performance by the bulk properties of the materials used in the TE cooler. More efficient cooling is needed in many applications. Reliability of assemblies of many elements is often not sufficient for many high reliability designs. The cost of TE coolers has not plummeted at the same rate as other electronic devices such as transistor circuits, lasers and detectors, because TE cooler elements are not fabricated using high volume planar integrated circuit technology. Further, TE coolers that can generate a large cooling effect tend to be large devices, typically 1 cm.times.1 cm or larger and thus, are not acceptable in small electronic devices.
It can be seen then that there is a need for better electronic coolers. It can also be seen then that there is a need for better electronic cooler fabrication techniques. It can also be seen that there is a need for low cost electronic coolers. It can also be seen that there is a need for more space efficient electronic coolers. It can also be seen that there is a need for more energy efficient electronic coolers. It can also be seen that there is a need for more reliable electronic coolers. It can also be seen that there is a need for electronic coolers that reach lower temperatures.